National Queens

[AlanF]

The leadup started today - reasonable field in F-Std, just 3 in F-Open. Hopefully there will be more in the Queens. Ben Curley and Kel Bell are leading after day 1.

Geoff Roberts is on deck this year so looks like results will be done nightly. Thanks Geoff. RESULTS PAGE

[AlanF]

Queensland, beautiful in the morning, then windy as hell ! At least that what the scores would indicate. Look at the A-grade scores at the first range - a couple of 50.10s and 68 possibles! Now look at the second range 50.7 top score and only 17 possibles .

Congrats to Bob Pedersen in F-Std, and to Kel Bell in Open. And late arrival Marty Lobert won the daily agg. in Open - hope he's there for the Queens.

Alan

[AlanF]

Well the main event has started. Its shaping up to be a great contest with small but high quality fields. Julie McEwan got yet another 100 in Open - great stuff, and Marty's 97 at 700 is putting everyone on notice for the longs. Ben Curley isn't dominating F-Std like last year so there are many possibilities there.

Does anyone in the field have internet access? If so, can you give us any gossip from the coalface? (e.g. calibres in F-Open)

Alan

[RDavies]

In the lead up, John Tracey and I were trying out brand new guns, with limited succes at first, while Kelvin was having problems with his 6.5x284 loads in the longer ranges. For the last 3 days, the winds at Belmont havent been particularly high, but have been changing speed and direction. Occaisionaly one will get a full range in without a major change, then the next range will be 3 changes in direction and head wind to knock you back to your senses. Fish tailing headwinds usualy happen somewhere in each shooters target.
Off the top of my head, the calibers being used are (I stand to be corrected)
Cameron McEwan 6mmBR for 300 and 284 longer
Rod Davies 22BR to 700 and 6x47 for longer
Marty Lobert 6mm BR for 300 and 284
Kelvin Bell 6x47 for shorts and 6.5x284 for longs
Julie McEwan 6mm BR at 300, and possibly 6.5x55 for longer??
John Tracey 284 all ranges
Barry Lewis 284 all ranges
So far the weather has been good, with sunny skies. Wet weather has been forecast for the last few days, so it seems the NRA has enough pull upstairs to change the weather patterns for a few more days, much appreciated for that.

[AlanF]

Thanks Rod. It seemed like strong winds the way the scores went, but in fact more switchy than strong. If you haven't shot Belmont before you'll be impressed with the faciliities there? Say G'day to the Open people for me. And if its not too much trouble, please report again. Good luck for the rest of the Queens.

Alan

[RAVEN]

Go the 284's
Good luck to all competitors

[RDavies]

Yes, the facilities there are definitely up to scratch for the world championships next year. The range was first class, mounds perfectly manicured, everything except the wind was looking good.The winds were not as strong as some we have shot in, but were switchy in strength and direction, which I am told is common at Brisbane.
In F standard, Alan Seaman got the daily aggregate yesterday and Peter Drew got it today.
In F class open,on day 2, Kelvin Bell had been having problems with his 6.5x284 so had to use his 6x47. Julie McEwan went well with her 6.5x55 until the longer ranges suited the bigger calibers. I used my 22BR at first, but then found a good load for my new 6x47 at 800m, but ran out of ammo and had to use my old 284 at 900yds with poor results. Otherwise 284s were the order of the day.
Cameron McEwan is tied with Marty Lobert for the lead. Both have been shooting very well, both having some bad wind conditions, and both having some good runs, but it will be a battle between the two of them at 900 and 1000 yds tomorrow when the two 284s, both similar in set up and loads try to break the tie for the Nationals win.
The weather again was perfect, with just a very quick sprinkle of rain before blue skies came out again. Rain is predicted tomorrow, but I hope the organisers have enough pull to keep the rain at bay for another day.
I will get back tomorrow with the final results.
One thing Isnt so good here is the numbers, surely there are more F open shooters in the area who could have come to build up numbers. At least those who have turned up have been a good friendly bunch, good to shoot with and good fun to socialize with.

[RAVEN]

Great reporting Rod
Keep up the good work and good luck for tomorrow just remember it’s never over till its over
Cheers
RB

[AlanF]

I've recently had a call from Marty Lobert who said there have been rain delays and the 1000yd shoot was to start at 12:30pm. However poor Marty had a plane to catch and was on the way to airport. He was in equal lead overnight, and had dropped one to Cameron at the 900 so was looking forward to a good contest at 1000. Marty is I believe going to be our sole F-Class Open representative at Bisley at the end of July, so his scores would indicate that he will acquit himself very well.

Alan

[AlanF]

Well, Cameron has come up with a magnificent 95 at 1000 yds to take the No.1 badge in F-Open - consistently high scores and a well-deserved win. I'll be interested to hear Rod Davies report.

And congrats to Bob Pedersen in F-Std, with 60s at both 900 and 1000 today, and a clear win in the Queens to add to his leadup win . Hopefully Bob's success will inspire more top A-Graders to come over and join us more sensible shooters with scopes .

Not forgetting James (TripleJim) Corbett's 19th Queens win .


Alan

[RDavies]

Yes, the Marty and Cameron shootout had a disapointing ending. They were tied together with me 3 points behind, both were shooting well with their 284s at the long ranges for the 1st two days. In the 900y today, it was close with Cameron just one point in front of Marty and me 1 point behind again, then the rain came in. Shooting was delayed and the 1000y shoot didnt start until 12.30. Unfortunatley for Marty, he had to catch a flight for Cairns (He is a pilot and had to fly to Cairns to pilot a flight to Brisbane the next morning!!!). Fortunatley he gained valuable experience from the shoot for his upcoming World Championship shoot in Bisley. The climate, temperature, humidity etc would be similar to what he will be facing in Bisley, so he did some experimenting. He checked how long he could shoot without cleaning and found when he will need to clean in Bisley. The score they shot were pretty good when you consider the winds were fickle, with small changes, just enough to move you out of the 10 ring F class open target. John Tracey will also be going to Bisley with Marty. John had the best looking F class rifle I have seen, but unfortunatley he had not had much time to prepare the rifle for the shoot and was working on loads and trying to repair niggly issues with the rifle during the Queens. His rifle was slowly but surely improving as the Queens progressed and I hope he can iron out the faults in time for Bisley.
With Marty on the way to the aiport to sit in the back seat on a flight, the 1000yd shoot was shot, with Cameron McEwan shooting a 95 in picky conditions. A lot of other shooters who were shooting at the same time were getting verticle misses which seam to happen a bit at Belmont. I was shooting shooting high and low 8s with my 6mm, so I wasnt able to catch Cameron. In the end, Cameron took a good lead in the 3rd day aggregate with myself and John Tracey behind.
For the 3 day Queens, Cameron McEwan was on 850 points, with me on 839 and his wife Julie McEwan on 819
The Belmont range was very well set up, looking good for the World Champs there in 2011. I had heard the conditiones would be tricky, and I certainly saw that the flags tell baltant lies here.
In F standard, Bob Petterson Blitzed the field, with awesome shooting to win the Queens, with Peter Drew and Alan Seaman tied for points behind him and Ben Curley a few points back. The standard of shooting in F standard was phenominal when consider the conditions.
Once again, James Corbett won the full bore shoot, only getting one 4 in 3 days, which was unbelievable in the conditions. The way many of the other full bore shooters shot in these conditions, shows how strong the field is in this discipline.

[RAVEN]

Great reporting Rod
Well done to all the winners
Poor Marty
Lucky Cameron Lucky Rod
Hope we get a report from these guys in Bisley I will be tuning in for sure.
Go the 284's
Rod ya need to get rid of those pop guns

[johnk]

Rod ya need to get rid of those pop guns

Forget the popgun. You should see the black beast stock!

[AlanF]

...Go the 284's...

Richard, Richard, Richard

If I hadn't called Kel and told him to ease up after his magnificent win in the leadup, things would have been very different ! We know you non-6.5ers need some encouragement.

Alan